


October Twelfth

by shkanonyasutrice



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Childhood Friends, Coming Out, Coming of Age, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-09-28 00:38:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17172545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shkanonyasutrice/pseuds/shkanonyasutrice
Summary: On October 12th, 1983, Eddie and Richie become friends. Over the course of thirty years, their friendship grows and thrives into something more, through all the struggles surrounding childhood, their teenage years, and adulthood. On October 12th of every year, their growing bond is explored.





	1. 1983: Bloody Nose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wednesday, October 12th, 1983, age seven. Richie's loud mouth gets him in trouble, and Eddie's there to witness.

Eddie gotten to know Richie for the first time on October 12th, 1983, when they were seven years old.

They had been classmates since kindergarten, but they had never really spoken to each other. Eddie had just known him as the kid who didn’t know how to keep his mouth shut in class, while Richie had known Eddie as the quiet kid whose breath sometimes sounded weirdly like a whistle.

The first time that Eddie had truly taken notice of Richie was during lunch break that day. He had been sitting alone on a bench, eating a sandwich. As he ate, he glanced around curiously at the other students, observing the games they were playing, and the conversations they were having.

Since his only two friends, Stan and Bill, were both absent due to having a cold for the past week, Eddie found that school had been pretty dull without them. So, that day, he found himself simply waiting for class to resume as he quietly observed the schoolyard.

The mundane atmosphere, however, was suddenly broken by the sound of pounding footsteps. Eddie took another bite of his sandwich and craned his head to the right to see what the commotion was about.

The first person he saw was Richie, running as fast as he could. Eddie could see his panicked expression, which made him immediately realize who was following him. Henry Bowers, along with Victor and Belch, were trailing close behind. Judging by the furious expression on Henry’s face, Eddie guessed that Richie had, unsurprisingly, said something to annoy Henry.

Sitting forward, Eddie watched as Richie tried to outrun the other boys. He winced as he noticed that the distance between Richie and Henry was closing, and he already knew that the chase wouldn’t end well for Richie. He was tempted to look away, but as he was about to do so, when his attention was drawn back by a voice crying out:

“Gotcha!”

Eddie’s eyes widened as he saw Henry grab Richie by the back of his shirt collar. Richie tried to wriggle away, but that only caused Henry to tighten his grip around the back of his neck. Then, he turned Richie towards the wall, rearing the boy’s head back. Victor and Belch began to laugh nervously, unsure of what to make of what was about to happen.

At that point, it became too much for Eddie. He briefly squeezed his eyes shut, but even though he was unable to see what happened, he could hear a sickening crack, and then the sound of a thump against the ground.

“Hey, that’s enough, right?” Victor asked uncertainly.

There was a pause. _Please say yes,_ Eddie mentally begged, already feeling unsettled from what he had heard. He wasn’t sure if he could stand anymore.

“Yeah, whatever,” Henry said. “You’ve learned your lesson, right?”

There was a groan.

“That’s right,” he continued.

Then, Eddie could hear the three boys walking away. Hesitantly, he reopened his eyes. The kids around the schoolyard didn’t appear to take much notice of what had happened, but Eddie couldn’t blame them, as Henry picking on an unlucky kid happened to be a daily event.

With some reluctance, he looked over to the spot where he had last seen Richie. The boy was no longer standing, but instead, was weakly struggling to get up from the ground. The left lens of his glasses was cracked, and a large bruise was already growing on his cheek. Blood was gushing from his nose, but he hardly seemed to notice, as he focused his energy into standing up. However, after struggling for a moment, he slumped back down on the ground.

Eddie threw his sandwich aside and ran towards him. A huge surge of guilt washed through him for merely sitting there while his classmate was in danger, but he knew that if he _had_ gone over to help Richie, he would have just ended up crumpled up on the ground next to him. He decided that the last he could do was make sure that the other boy was okay.

When he reached Richie’s side, he knelt down beside him. As soon as he saw how much blood there was, Eddie felt his throat begin to close up, panicking. He understood one thing clearly—this boy was dying. _What do I do?!_ he thought worriedly.

Richie was watching him in a shocked daze, still barely able to process the swift attack Henry had just inflicted. He felt himself begin to panic now that there was someone by his side. Even though he was beginning to feel an excruciating pain in his nose, he didn’t want to look weak in front of his classmate. He forced a weak grin.

“I’m okay, I’m—” he began, but cut himself off as he felt his voice break, and tears begin to well up. He was also beginning to feel alarmed upon seeing Eddie’s worried look.

 _What?!”_ Richie cried.

His brief discomfort had turned into full-blown panic. He burst into tears, terrified at the thought that he was on death’s door. At that realization, the pain in his nose seemed to evolve from a relatively painful throb into the most excruciating agony he had ever experienced in his short life. As he began to wail, a few kids turned to look, curious about his dramatic display.

Eddie flinched, registering that Richie’s increased panic meant that his wellbeing was deteriorating. He knew he needed to try and do something to help him. Glancing towards the doors leading into the school, he decided that going to the nurse was his only solution.

He grabbed Richie’s hand and pulled him to his feet. The other boy still looked utterly terrified, and although his sobbing had become a little quieter, the other kids were still staring at the two boys. Eddie took no notice, instead observing how unsteady Richie’s footsteps were. He stopped walking, put an arm around Richie’s waist, and dragged him along at a quickened pace.

As they entered the school, Eddie took a second to glance over at Richie. His nose was no longer bleeding as heavily, but that wasn’t enough to soothe either child’s nerves. All Eddie could focus on was how much blood was beginning to congeal around the lower half of his face, automatically processing that as a sign that he had lost too much blood. Richie, on the other hand, still continued to panic about how scared Eddie was.

After a few minutes, they reached the nurse’s office. The door was slightly ajar, and on the other side, the nurse was calmly reading a magazine. When the door was thrust open fully, she let out a cry, jumping back slightly. The first boy she saw was Richie, immediately taking in his bloodied face, and the tears streaming down his face.

“He said I’m dying!” he cried out, indicating to the other boy still holding onto him.

When her eyes fell on Eddie, any concern she felt began to wane, and it was replaced by irritation.   

Eddie had been a frequent visitor to the nurse’s office since he had started elementary school, often as frightened as Richie currently was.

During his first year at the school, the nurse had been frequently concerned about him, but now, she had come to learn that he tended to overreact to every little thing that went wrong. In fact, it had just been a few days since he had burst into the office, claiming that he was on the verge of an ‘anner-ism’, when, in reality, he had just been plagued by a mild headache.

A part of her was still concerned about _where_ he got such dramatic and harsh ideas about minor illnesses, but that wasn’t her top priority right now. At that moment, she just needed to prevent Richie from panicking any further. The last thing she needed was Eddie inflicting another student with his own extreme worries.

“You’re not dying,” she told Richie firmly.

That caused him to relax a little, but not as much as she hoped, as he was still staring up at her with wide eyes. She took his arm and guided him to one of the two beds, propping him up. After examining him for a moment, she gave his nose a small prod, causing him to cry out. Eddie winced.

“Is he going to be okay?” he asked.

“Of course he is. His nose is broken, but it’s not that severe,” she explained, and then glared at him. “He’s definitely _not_ dying.”

Richie seemed to calm down significantly upon hearing that. Eddie, on the other hand, frowned and silently sat down in one of the nearby chairs, wanting to make himself as unnoticeable as possible. Even at his young age, he was beginning to realize that he tended to overreact when it came to minor illnesses or injuries, which made him feel all the more guilty for causing Richie to panic.

He reassured himself by thinking about how his mother always fretted over every little injury he got. If his mother worried, shouldn’t he worry too?

Pushing the thought away, he watched as the nurse fumbled in the freezer for an ice pack. Turning around, she approached him once more, first cleaning up the blood sticking to his face. Once he was cleaned up, she then handed the ice pack to him, instructing that he needed to hold it against his nose three times a day for fifteen minutes. He nodded frequently to show he understood.

“Are you feeling alright now?” she asked.

Richie froze for a moment, just watching her. Both she and Eddie feared that he would reveal that he wasn’t okay at all, and that the pain was only getting worse. Instead, he did something neither of them predicted. He leant his head against her arm, gazing up at her with shining eyes.

“You’re my hero! You saved my life!” he exclaimed exaggeratedly, his voice muffled by the ice pack.

She looked at him, disgruntled. Eddie held a hand up to his mouth to hide his grin. She got up, approaching the door, looking back at the two boys.

“I told you that you weren’t dying,” she said. “But you probably do need to rest up for the afternoon. I’ll go tell your teacher you’ll be absent for a while.”

She left the room, closing the door behind her. Eddie looked up at Richie, unable to make out his expression underneath the ice pack. He was feeling increasingly guilty for making him panic so much, and wondered if he had calmed down fully yet. Hesitantly, he got up from the chair, made his way across the room, and sat down on the bed. He then looked down at his feet as he spoke again.

“Are you really feeling okay?” he asked quietly.

“Well, I’m not dying, and I get to miss class,” Richie replied, and then moved the ice pack away from his face, showing that he was smiling. “Seems like a pretty good day to me!”

Seeing that he seemed to be genuinely doing okay, even after what Henry had done, Eddie felt himself relax. He smiled back at him, relieved that he wasn’t holding a grudge over convincing him he was dying. Then, as he thought of Henry, something occurred to him.

“I got a question for you.”

“Yeah?” Richie said, looking at him curiously.

“Why did Henry attack you? Did you do something?”

Richie paused for a moment, frowning. He shifted uncomfortably, and Eddie worried that, once again, he had caused him discomfort. _What if Henry just attacked him for no reason, and now he’s scared about being bullied? What if I just reminded him that he’s not safe at school? Oh man, I’m the worst._

“I told him his new jacket looked stupid,” Richie mumbled guiltily.

That caused Eddie’s rambling, anxious train of thought to halt. A part of him couldn’t believe how reckless Richie must have been to say something so bold to the school’s most notorious bully, but another part of him was thinking about the jacket Henry had been wearing. He recalled its ugly shade of brown, and its tacky shoulder tassels. Thinking back on it, he grinned, and then burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?!” Richie demanded to know.

“Nothing! Nothing! It’s just… that jacket really _did_ look stupid, huh?” he said, trying to stop laughing.

That caused Richie to smile too, and laughed along with him for a moment. He then stopped, eyeing Eddie up curiously. He gave the other boy’s arm a gentle nudge.

“Now I got a question for you,” he said.

“You do?”

“Yeah. Why’d you help me?” he asked, and then added. “It was really nice and all, but Bowers beats up, like, a million kids a day. So why _me?”_

Eddie opened his mouth, and closed it again, humming loudly to indicate he was thinking. He hadn’t really thought about it. Why _did_ he help Richie? He had witnessed Henry hurt multiple kids over the two years he had been attending elementary school, but he hadn’t helped any of them. But, he had been drawn to help Richie as soon as Henry had left him alone.

 _Why_ did _I do that?_

Facing Richie again, he simply shrugged.

“I guess I thought you were dying, and I didn’t wanna see you die?” Eddie replied, more of a question than a statement. “I just _wanted_ to help you, I guess.”

“You were really scared I was gonna die, huh?” Richie said, a small smile forming on his lips.

“Hey, you believed me!” Eddie retaliated, beginning to feel embarrassed.

“Yeah, but you’re still the one who freaked out first! You were so worried about me that you tried to save my life!” the other boy continued, sounding exuberant. “You really care about me, huh?”

Eddie stared at him incredulously. He found it difficult to believe that less than fifteen minutes ago, he had been crying hysterically about his broken nose, and now, he was teasing him. Instead of responding to what he said, Eddie picked up the ice pack once again, handing it to him.

“The nurse said you had to hold that against your face for fifteen minutes, didn’t she?” he said.

Richie said nothing for a moment, instead just held the ice pack against his face. Eddie found the silence between them to be quite pleasant, but he kept glancing towards the door, anxiously awaiting the nurse’s footsteps. As he looked away for a moment, he suddenly heard Richie speak.

“Thanks for helping me, Eds. It means a lot.”

His tone was surprisingly meek, and Eddie figured that speaking with sincerity was something that Richie didn’t do often. Turning back towards him, Eddie smiled shyly.

“No problem,” he said, and then frowned again. “But don’t call me Eds. That sounds dumb.”

Richie looked taken aback at that. “It’s not dumb, it’s cute!”

As Richie stared intently at him, Eddie found himself beginning to blush slightly. He then shook his head, ready to retaliate and tell him it _wasn’t_ cute, but before he could, Richie spoke again.

“Besides, don’t friends give each other nicknames?” he said.

There was no mistaking the hope in his voice. Eddie gazed at him, feeling like he was properly seeing Richie for the first time. Even though he was loudmouthed, and came across as incredibly confident, he must have been lonely, too. Eddie could never recall seeing him spending a significant amount of time with any of the kids in their school, and occasionally, spent some lunch breaks alone.

He had begun to realize that his small act of kindness had meant an incredible amount to Richie. For him, it marked the beginning of a friendship. And, as Eddie contemplated it, he realized he had begun to see it that way too.

At an older age, he may have been more hesitant to call someone a friend after just one proper conversation. However, at the age of seven, that was enough of an indicator that a friendship had begun. Sure, Richie didn’t always watch his mouth, and seemed to tease quite a lot, but Eddie found that he had already taken a liking to him.

“Sure, friends give each other nicknames, but not dumb ones,” he finally replied.

Richie grinned broadly, and then sidled closer to Eddie, their legs lightly brushing. He opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could say anything, the bell rang out, indicating the end of recess. Eddie hopped off the bed.

“I gotta get to class now,” he said apologetically.

As he began to walk away, he suddenly felt something grip his arm. Looking down, he saw that Richie was holding onto him, causing him to stop in his tracks.

“You sure you don’t want to stay?”

Eddie stopped for a moment, contemplating it. He had been bored all day with Bill and Stan being absent, and he knew that returning to class would just result in more boredom. If he stayed here, though, it would give him a chance to get to know his new friend better.

He froze, contemplating it. But then, he thought of how much his mother would freak out if she found out he had missed the second half of that day’s classes. So, he pulled his arm out of Richie’s grip, and walked towards the door.

“I’ll come by after class, okay?” he offered.

“You better!” Richie said.

Giving him a small wave, Eddie then closed the door, staring at the wall opposite him for a moment. Then, he smiled to himself. He found it hard to believe that he now had a new friend. Richie was someone he never saw himself becoming friends with before, but now, he found himself wanting to get to know the boy more and more.

 _Why_ am _I leaving him all alone?_

For one of the first times in his life, he thought that he didn’t care about the consequences he would face from his mother.

He turned around, his hand hovering above the door handle, feeling eager at the thought of the new friendship that was now beginning to bloom. 


	2. 1984: Test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friday, October 12th, 1984, age eight. Eddie calls over to Richie's house to work on their homework together. Meanwhile, Went and Maggie make some observations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so, so, so sorry for the super late update! I unfortunately can't promise that my updating speed will pick up anytime soon, as I'm working fulltime, and so can only work on this in snippets. Thank you for keeping up with this nonetheless!! (PS, no appearances from the other Losers yet, but I promise that's going to change soon!!)

Eddie’s hand hovered over the doorknob, and after a moment of deliberation, curled his hand into a fist and knocked instead.

He hugged his math book closer to his chest, already dreading the idea of spending a Friday afternoon working on homework. Normally, he would have the weekend free from any more schoolwork, but this weekend proved to be an exception. There had been a math test earlier that week, and on that Friday, it was revealed that only two people out of the entire class had passed. As a result, all the students that had failed were told to work on the math problems that were on the test at home.

Eddie had been one of the unlucky ones who had failed, and not much to his surprise, Richie also said he failed. To make the best of a bad situation, Richie had invited him over after school to work on the test together. Eddie found that made homework sound a little more bearable, but he still wasn’t crazy about the idea of wasting his Friday evening on math.

He looked up at the door again when he heard footsteps approaching. When the door opened, he saw Richie’s mother, standing on the other side, smiling down warmly at him. Before either of them could say anything, they were distracted by another pair of rapidly approaching footsteps. Seconds later, Richie came into view, rushing down the hallway. He only managed to stop himself by clinging to the back of his mother’s legs.

”Eds!” he exclaimed happily.

Eddie decided to ignore his use of a nickname he hated, and instead smiled at him. He was grateful that Richie had come up with a way to make working on homework a little more bearable, after all.

”Hi, Richie,” he replied, and then, looking up at his mother, he spoke a little more softly and politely. “Hi, Mrs. Tozier. Thanks for letting me come over.”

”You know you can call me Maggie, right?” she replied. Eddie gave a quick nod, but said nothing.

She took a step back, allowing him room to enter the house. He took a small step inside, pausing to take off his shoes. She raised her eyebrows slightly at how quiet and polite he was, especially since he had been calling over frequently for about a year at that stage.

She was certain that after becoming comfortable in the household, he would begin to reveal a bolder and louder side, similar to how her own son acted, but that never happened. Over time, she had come to learn that he was genuinely a quiet, polite child, much to her relief. However, that also made her more confused about how the two boys had managed to stay friends this long. She had thought that Richie’s obnoxiousness would repel Eddie, and Eddie’s quietness would bore Richie.

As Maggie watched Richie tightly grip his arm as he led him into the living room, telling him excitedly how his mother would be making pizza for them, she noticed that even though Eddie looked a little pained from the grip on his arm, he was smiling back at him. Even now, she could see how much the two boys got along in spite of their differences. She hoped, as time went on, Eddie’s behaviour would help Richie to become a less brash, loud mouthed child.

However, as she watched Eddie simply stare at Richie as he rambled on eagerly, she knew that would only be a distant wish.

”Dad! Eddie’s here!” Richie called out as he entered the living room.

Wentworth looked up from the television briefly, taking notice of the two boys. Eddie gave him a small wave.

”Oh good, you’re finally here. I was worried Richie was never going to stop staring out the window to see you,” he said nonchalantly, raising his eyebrows slightly at his son.

Eddie looked over at Richie, surprise evident on his face. Wentworth barely managed to suppress a smirk, knowing he was on the right path to embarrassing him in front of a friend, but only became confused when he saw Richie nod and grin.

”I would’a stared out the window all day if I had to,” he confirmed. “I needed to see you made it here okay, right?”

Eddie looked at him with the same surprised expression for a further moment, and then snickered. Wentworth shrugged, getting up from the sofa. He figured it would be another few years before Richie had any semblance of shame or a wish to keep some things secret. Hell, at that, a part of him doubted his son would ever be able of that.

”’Course I got here okay,” Eddie said, sounding a little confused.

Wentworth decided a greeting, and a failed attempt at embarrassing Richie, was enough for now, and got up from his chair. As he walked out of the room, he heard Eddie toss down his backpack and begin to unzip it. When the boy spoke up again, Wentworth found himself briefly pausing in his footsteps to listen.

”Are Stan and Bill coming too?” Eddie asked.

”Nope. I just asked you,” Richie replied nonchalantly.

”You did?”

From what Wentworth could hear, Eddie‘s tone was quiet and surprised. He paused in the hallway, raising an eyebrow. Not for the first time since Eddie came into his son’s life, he found himself thinking about just how deeply Richie cared about his new friend. With that on his mind, he proceeded into the kitchen to join Maggie, who was reading a magazine at the dining table.

Back in the living room, Eddie was looking at Richie confusedly upon hearing that he had been the only one invited over. That confusion was quickly replaced by worry, as he found himself wondering once again if Bill and Stan didn’t get along with Richie. It had been a recurring fear since the day after they had become friends, and Eddie was now landed with the task of trying to bring him into his pre-existing friend group.

Bill and Stan had already known who Richie was, as they were all in the same class, but previously hadn’t even thought of including him in their group, but as the four boys spent one recess as a full group for the first time, Eddie could already see that there was a natural connection forming. Richie was talking a mile a minute, trying to make as strong an impression as he could before the school bell rang. Bill had actually been amused by some of his jokes, and although Stan appeared to show disdain towards him, Eddie had noticed him trying to occasionally hide a smirk. His worries about the boys meshing together had been for nothing, as the following day, the four of them had spent time together as a group once more.

That had been a year ago, and by now, Richie was definitely a part of the group. Eddie was certain that they all got along well, but it was at times like this that he worried that they didn’t _actually_ get along, that they had all been pretending to for Eddie’s sake. He knew that was ridiculous, considering Richie idolized Bill as soon as he started getting to know him, and he and Stan were always lively around each other, in spite of their bickering.

But still, he couldn’t help but ask about what was on his mind. “Why’d you just invite me?”

”’Cause I like you the best,” Richie replied casually. “Anyway, did you bring your test with you?”

Eddie didn’t respond for a moment, as he felt his cheeks begin to heat up. Richie wasn’t shy about how much he cared about him, but he usually showed it in ways that often got on Eddie’s nerves. That was especially apparent in the weeks following their budding friendship, where he would clutch Eddie and tell Bill and Stan about how he had saved him from the brink of death. While Eddie always felt a small surge of pride at that, he also couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Richie’s theatrics.

Every now and then, however, Richie would casually, and calmly, mention how much he cared about him, and that meant more to Eddie than any of his dramatic displays. The casual way he said it made Eddie believe that Richie’s care for him was such a fundamental part of him now, that it no longer required deep thinking or processing. Caring for Eddie was just another aspect of Richie’s self.

His embarrassment was being overtaken by that warm happiness, and he couldn’t help but smile to himself. Richie stared at him, and then cleared his throat loudly, causing him to flinch.

”Earth to Eddie?” he said.

”Oh, yeah, I brought it!” Eddie replied feeling caught off guard.

He reached into his backpack and pulled out the now crumpled sheet. As he tried to smooth it out, he cringed again when he saw the amount of red crosses underneath his answers, and the top of the page simply reading “2/22”. He knew math had never been his strong suit, but this test was on a whole other level of abysmal. Almost ashamedly, he brought it over to the coffee table, laying it flat for Richie to see. He spotted his friend’s eyes widen at the test result, making him want to crumple up the sheet of paper and throw it away.

”Where’s your test?” Eddie asked in an attempt to take the attention away.

Richie stared at him blankly for a minute. After a moment, he grinned and shrugged.

”I left mine at school,” he said.

”Seriously?! Miss Dunhill’s gonna kill you—“

”Yeah, yeah, we’ll burn that bridge when we get there,” Richie dismissed him, and then grabbed his test. “Okay, so let’s see...”

As he examined his test, Eddie sat up stiffly, feeling uncomfortable at having his poor results displayed so openly in front of one of his best friends. It wasn’t the most important test in the world, as it was just a test on multiplications of six and seven, but it had still been enough to stump him.

After a quick examination, Richie looked over at him incredulously, which only made him even more nervous.

”How’d you get zero for _every answer?!”_ he asked.

”Umm, well, I panicked and all I remembered was that you always get zero when you multiply...” Eddie mumbled in an attempt to weakly explain.

”Yeah, when you multiply by zero!” Richie exclaimed exasperatedly, pressing his hand against his forehead.

When he saw how embarrassed Eddie looked, unable to meet his gaze, Richie sighed, feeling a pang of guilt. He reached over for his notebook and ripped out a page. Grabbing his pencil, copying down the first equation down.

”It’s okay, we can conquer math together, right?” he said hopefully.

”I guess, but it’s just...” Eddie trailed off, and looked at him frustratedly. “Multiplying’s dumb. It’s just confusing addition.”

”Hey, you’ve got it!” Richie exclaimed, jumping up. “It’s just confusing addition! What’s six plus six?”

”Twelve?”

”And what’s twelve plus six?”

”...Eighteen?” Eddie replied apprehensively.

Although he was still uncertain about his math knowledge, he was becoming slightly more reassured in himself. His confidence only grew when he saw how eager Richie was looking.

”Okay, so what’s six by three?” he asked.

Eddie felt as if his train of thought had come to a screeching halt. He stared blankly at Richie for a moment, and then just shrugged. He saw Richie stare back at him, not knowing what to do for a few seconds, and then scooted over a bit on the couch, pressing the pencil against the page.

”We’re gonna be here a while, huh?” he said lightly.

Eddie was relieved to see that Richie truly looked unbothered by his slow learning process. Sitting slightly closer to him, he tried to focus his mind to concentrate on multiplication.

* * *

In the kitchen, Maggie gave her husband a curious look, knowing that there was something on his mind. She put down her magazine and sat up, watching as he approached the table, taking a seat next to her.

”What are you thinking about?” she asked.

”Nothing, it’s just...” he paused, thinking for a moment. “What do you think of Eddie?”

Maggie raised her eyebrows slightly at his question. She still remembered the day that Richie had come home, one lens of his glasses shattered, his nose bent out of shape, and blood on his shirt. While she had immediately panicked, she had come to a halt when she saw the smile on her son’s face. And then, his proud remark, _”I made a new friend today!”_

At first, she had been worried that his new friend had been responsible for his injuries, but as he eagerly recounted the full story, she had been surprised to find that for the first time since he started school, he finally had a proper friend. Frankly, she had been unsurprised that no child had tried being his friend for the first few years of school, given how boisterous he was. Nevertheless, she felt immense relief that he had finally found someone. And, because of that, she had been fond of Eddie since the previous year.

”I think he’s nice. Why?” she answered after a moment.

Wentworth didn’t respond for a moment, and Maggie knew that he was trying to choose his words carefully. As he remained quiet, she looked over at the oven, making sure the pizza wasn’t burning yet. Her attention was drawn back when Wentworth spoke up once more.

”It’s just that, by the looks of things, Richie seems awfully fond of him,” he said.

”Of course he’s fond of him,” she said, giving him a funny look. “He’s Richie’s first friend, after all.”

”I know, but he’s got more friends now, and he doesn’t talk about them nearly as much as he talks about Eddie.”

Maggie nodded, knowing what he meant. While Richie did often recount stories of what happened to Stan and Bill at school, the main focus of his stories was always Eddie, no matter how mundane. For the past year, Maggie had received every update on what he brought in for lunch, what he had doodled in his notebook, and what colour shirt he had been wearing that day.

”All I’m saying is that when I was his age, Wentworth continued, “I was never _that_ smitten with my male friends.”

That’s when it hit Maggie. She now knew exactly what her husband was thinking.

”Oh, for God’s sake, Went! He’s _eight!”_ she cried. “You know he’s too young to feel that way about anyone yet!”

”Isn’t he? You’re telling me _you_ never had a puppy crush at that age?” he asked, smirking slightly.

Maggie scowled at him, trying to ignore the fact that she was beginning to blush. She knew exactly what he was referring to— a few months into their relationship, in their late teens, she had confessed to him that she used to admire him from afar when they were children. This was something that he had found amusing, and quite sweet, and now Maggie had realized he hadn’t forgotten.

”Oh, come on—“ she began.

”I’m not making a wild guess about Richie, right?” Wentworth said slowly.

Maggie chewed on her lip, and then nodded. “I can see where you’re coming from.”

They both knew that neither of them would have an issue with the possibility of Richie not being straight. When he was still a baby, they had discussed multiple what-if scenarios, and when that topic had come up, both were relieved to find that it wasn’t an issue for either of them. Even though their son could be exhausting and reckless, they still loved and supported him, no matter what.

”Well, if you’re right, I suppose it isn’t a bad thing. There are much worse kids in Derry he could pine after,” she mumbled. “Eddie’s a good influence on him.”

Wentworth nodded in agreement. He was curious to see if his assumptions were wrong, and if they weren’t, how his feelings would play out. Would his affections dwindle, or would it only grow stronger as time went on? He couldn’t predict that answer. The only thing he was certain of, after a year of observing their friendship, was that Eddie would stay a prominent part of Richie’s life, no matter what.

He was shaken out of his thoughts when the oven suddenly dinged. Maggie hopped up from her seat, put on a pair of oven mitts, and pulled the pizza out of the oven. She slid it onto a plate, divvied it up into eight slices, and carefully carried it towards the door. As she left the room, she contemplated saying something else to her husband, but instead found herself thinking about the new perspective of Richie and Eddie’s friendship that Wentworth had introduced.

* * *

 

Twenty minutes later, the pizza remained mainly untouched. Eddie had been holding the same slice for the past while, now almost cold, as he only took an occasional nibble. Richie hadn’t touched it at all, as he remained utterly focused on the math equations in front of him.

At first, he attempted to slowly and clearly explain each equation as they went through it, loudly announcing the answers as he wrote it out on the page in front of him. However, as time went on, he began to explain in a quieter tone, and eventually, he stopped speaking altogether as he wrote.

Eddie made no objection to this, though. Sure, he was still confused, but that his confusion was only secondary to his fascination. He was used to Richie not taking his schoolwork seriously. He would often abandon assignments during class to talk to Eddie, or whoever else was beside him, usually Bill or Stan. Otherwise, he would be picking off little scraps of his eraser, or finding ways to get on the teacher’s nerves.

Now, however, he was fully immersed in the equations in front of him. Eddie couldn’t help but wonder if this was a side to him he hadn’t seen before, one in which he actually took deep interest in his schoolwork. He found himself observing how dedicated Richie was— chewing on his lip as he concentrated, holding the pen with a grip that whitened his knuckles. Eddie saw that his hair was beginning to get in the way of his face as he dipped his head lower each time he remembered an equation. As he observed all this, he smiled to himself, finding it hard to stop observing Richie’s focused expression.

”Do you understand that, Eds?” Richie said, suddenly raising his head and causing him to flinch and avert his gaze.

”Uh, yeah, I do,” he mumbled, having absolutely no clue what he was talking about.

Richie moved away from the page slightly, allowing room for Eddie to see. Upon seeing the long line of multiplication equations down the page, he felt shocked. He knew Richie had been writing for quite some time, but he hadn’t paid attention to a single thing he wrote, as he had been too busy staring. So, he still couldn’t help but be surprised as he looked at the answers.

Wordlessly, he reached into his backpack once more and pulled out his book of multiplication tables. Skipping to the right page, he laid the book next to the page.

”Hey, you got all of these right!” he cried, looking at each answer side by side.

”Yeah,” Richie said distractedly, and then faced him. “Do you get it now? It’s like you said, it’s just confusing addition.”

Eddie didn’t respond to his question. “If you got all of these right, how did you fail in the first place?”

”Uh...” Richie said, looking away from him.

Then, it finally clicked with Eddie.

”You passed, didn’t you?”

After hesitating for a moment, Richie nodded. Eddie felt more confused than anything else. He realized that Richie had never been that open about his grades, or sharing his schoolwork. However, given his general attitude in class, Eddie had naturally assumed he wasn’t the brightest student. After a full year, he was finding out that there were still things he didn’t know about his friend.

There was still one other thing that baffled him even more, though.

”Why did you say you failed in the first place?” he asked.

”So you’d come over here and I could try to help you out. I know you’re really bad at math,” Richie answered.

Eddie opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it, knowing he had a point. He also stopped himself from talking due to the way that Richie was looking at him, as if he had something else to say. After a moment, he spoke once more.

”You’re always doing nice stuff for me, and I wanted to do something nice for you,” he admitted, and then smiled at him. “And it worked, right? You understand it now, don’t you?”

Eddie felt guilt wash over him, knowing he was still as clueless as the moment he walked into the house. However, that had been no fault of Richie’s. It had been his own fault for not even bothering to look at the equations written, or what his friend was trying to slowly trying to explain to him, after all. But, he knew Richie would blame himself.

”Yeah, I get it—“ he began, but before he could say any more, both boys jumped at the sound of a car horn beeping outside.

Eddie was surprised to see his mother’s car on the curb. Panickedly, he looked at the clock on the wall, alarmed at how much time had passed. His mother had promised to collect him at 5.30, and he had completely lost track of time.

”I guess I gotta go now,” he said, a little glumly.

Richie looked a little disappointed too. While Eddie wanted to spend more time with him, he was also a little relieved that there wouldn’t be any chance for Richie to quiz him on multiplication. Still, he felt bad, and promised himself that he would properly study when he got home, especially after how much Richie had wanted to help him.

As Richie walked him out into the hallway and opened the front door for him, Eddie shouted a quick goodbye to his parents, and then turned back towards him. Richie gave him a curious look. Eddie hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do, and then, decided on giving him a gentle pat on the arm. He felt like it was a weak gesture, but felt it was enough, given how he could feel his own mother’s eyes on him. Besides, it had been enough to cause Richie to smile at him.

”Thanks,” he said simply.

With that, he walked out the door. As he approached the car, he turned around one last time, seeing that Richie was still standing at the front door, looking melancholic. Eddie raised his hand in a small wave as a final goodbye, and Richie waved back at him, and even from where he was standing, he could see Richie was grinning once more. Hiding a smile of his own, he opened the car door. He was almost oblivious to his mother’s presence as he found himself wondering how Richie kept managing to surprise him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to the book, Richie /did/ actually get fantastic grades, so I decided to roll with that idea for this chapter!!
> 
> Again, I'm sorry for the super long wait, but if you have any thoughts, please let me know!! <3


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